Fatal Flaws

"What the hell are you doing here, Colin?"  Sanria pushed, but Colin was not deterred in the least.  He held her to him tightly, kissing her neck and smelling her hair.
"I had Kaliadra send me when he was gone. Here I am.  I'm here for you."
"I don't want to see you.  Leave."
"No.  Not unless you're coming with me."
"What?"
"Come with me. This whole thing is wrong, I see that more than ever. You shouldn't be with him.  You should be with me."

Sanria smelled  the familiar smell of Colin's body, his hair, the way he pulled her to him and the warmth that rolled from him in waves. Her body already responded. She cursed herself even as she pushed him back again. "No,  Colin.  You need to go.  I  don't want to see you!"  But her words were like the lightest summer breeze against the trunk of an oak. He had every trick in the book  from the many  years with her, every method for making her weak.
"You should be with me."
"I can't."
"Yes.  You can."

In her  mind, at least, Sanria put up a valiant fight.  She resisted and swore her bond to Gilean.  Colin simply called her bluff and  before she knew it, they were deep within one another, all thoughts of her anger at his time with Kaliadra and how wrong this was gone like dew in afternoon light.  "Do  you want me, or him?" Colin whispered heavily into her ear.
"I..."
"Tell me..."
"You..."
"That's what I thought."

Colin kissed her heavily, drunkenly, and stood up with a triumphant look on  his face.  Sanria felt a sudden flush  of outrage - in part with the presumption Colin made, as  well as the betrayal  of her own self.  "You get out of here, now.  You go back and think about what you did!"

With reflexes  he usually saved for fighting, Colin leaned down, kissing Sanria yet again.  He  pulled back to look at her, his gray eyes steady. "No.  *You* think about what I did, and remember what you felt.  This is right.  Me and you."

Angrily, Sanria  wove a spell to send him back to the cavern.  No sooner than Colin  had vanished,  Sanria's cheeks still flush with frustration, than Gilean walked  in with a smile. "I'm ready for some sleep, it was a great walk."
"We should leave tomorrow," she  said as gently as she could.  Her heart raced with the betrayal. "You're right," Gilean said.  He kissed her on the cheek and went off to get ready for bed.

Crashing the Party

The "adventure" had been a success.  Gilean, Sanria, Matinus, and Nioma had all arrived in the remotest section Myth Drannor.  Matinus had been in awe of the woods and immediately took Nioma under his wing, protectively showing  her around and taking care to keep her safe.  Gilean had also been attentive to Sanria's  every need - ensuring  that she wanted for nothing.  Though Sanria felt at first the trip was a diversion that kept her from thinking about her feelings, she slowly found herself relaxing into the slower pace of the woods. They had found a place in one of the ancient houses to stay where the children could run about safely without fear.

Time seemed to slow, and as  Gilean patiently tended the entire family, Sanria began to feel that perhaps she could dedicate herself to him. It was a commitment that grew easier for her to see. Her new life was here already, she only had to step into it.

That night, the children were already tucked in. Gilean kissed Sanria's hand and smiled at her. "I'm going to take a little walk, maybe get some firewood... would you like to come along?"
"It's been a long day," she replied, smiling back.
"Have you enjoyed the trip?"
"More than you could imagine.  I'm... really glad we came."
"So am I."  Gilean walked to the door.  "I will be back, my dear."
"I'll be waiting."

As Gilean  disappeared, Sanria walked to the bed and dropped her robes. She slipped  beneath the covers,  pulling  them over her,  admiring the smell of the forest on them.  She closed her eyes, and the sound of magic made  her smile.  A body plopped into  bed beside her and she threw her arm over a chest.  "You're back," she said with a smile.
"Yes.  I am."

Sanria's eyes opened quickly at the sound of  the voice.  Colin grabbed her  tightly to him.  He  was half  dressed, and  the smell  of alcohol rolled off his breath as he kissed her with drunken passion.

Making Amends?

A diary entry left open upon a small white table:

I  encountered  the small rabbit that Colin claims is his own today, a missive tied around  its neck. I must admit that such a rabbit did make me consider a meal, but not being in wolf form, to end the rabbits life to satisfy  my hunger would not do without cooking. The missive was a request - send Colin to meet with Sanria when Gilean was not present.

I realize I should  have ignored it, but I did not see the harm in doing what  he asked.  I did not  realize that Colin had  restraint issues. I sent him then scryed and found that he was only half dressed and in a very inebriated state. Sanria looked quite shocked to see him.

I could feel her anger and frustration and guilt and pleasure. I do not know if what I have done has helped.  I am beginning to suspect that all my attempts at helping are... quite pitiful  indeed. In fact, I feel as though I have  done nothing but stir  up the proverbial hornet's nest of problems. I have never felt so conflicted in all my years.

Family Adventures

"Colin and Kaliadra slept together." Sanria blurted the words out before she  could be bothered to form  them in any other way.  She couldn't hide the pain  and she  could barely look at Gilean.  She hated the  fact that after  all her attempts at controlling the situation, all her retaliatory slaps to the face, she still couldn't manage to keep herself from looking the fool.
"Well... that seems odd."
"She did it to hurt me, to force me to stay-" And Sanria cut herself off.  She waited for Gilean to understand, but it seemed he was perfectly willing to ignore what the implication meant.
"Well of course you would be hurt, you still have feelings for Colin." Sanria was stunned into a silence from which she could only nod. This was not at all  the reaction she anticipated. "I'm so sorry they did this to you," he continued. "That wasn't fair of either of them."

There was  no way this could  be what he thought... did he not understand that she had been on the verge of going back? She let out a long sigh and shook her head. "Well... they deserve each other."
"I had been planning in secret, but I  think now would  be a good time to let you in on my plans - I want to take you and the kids on an adventure. Me, you, Matinus, and Nioma.  We'll get away from all of this."

Panic shot up into Sanria's thoughts, but they were soon quelled by the gold-flecked eyes that  smiled into hers. No matter what, Gilean was her husband, and now she truly had to take the time to settle into that fact. Colin made his choice to push her away, she'd never see him again if she could  at all help it. Gilean sat there, waiting  with a soft smile for her reply. She nodded slowly and he leaned his forehead to hers. "Good. Let's leave tomorrow," he whispered.
"Tomorrow..."
"Why not?"

Why not... there  was nothing else for her to do. She knew  the clan was always  in capable hands and Colin was no longer hers to consider. She reached up and took his wrist in her hand and managed to smile. "Alright. Let's go."